I liked the article "pH Balance: Acids and Alkalis And Anti-Oxidants" because it encouraged its reader to stay away from processed foods (high acid content/low pH) and to eat a lot of fresh fruits and veggies. I don't think you can go wrong with something like that. I think it can be dangerous to recommend people eat the sugary fruits though. A lot of people in this country are dealing with massive amounts of yeast and dampness in the body and eating sweet fruit could encourage more yeast growth.
I'm not sure I believe all the reasoning behind pH balancing. I do see the validity but like the article also touched on, different parts of our body have different pHs, so testing out our acid and alkaline numbers could be very inaccurate and we could read into the results wrong. Also, pH levels are effected so easily. I could go down in pH drastically because of one cup of coffee, but one cup of coffee isn't going to kill me. This could really freak someone out if they tested their pH right after drinking a soda or a coffee.
This evening I was impressed with Gazania and her presentation. I liked how a personal story encouraged her to share with us the importance of natural deoderant. I have now been wearing my homemade deoderent everyday and I love it. Thanks Gazania!
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Sunday, March 9, 2014
The Chemistry of Marijuana in Medicine
I have so much more that I want to talk about on this subject. I didn't know I was so scared of public speaking until I sat back down after my presentation and realized I forgot to mention almost half my findings and points.
Finding clear studies without an agenda is always hard, but I think it is especially difficult in the case of marijuana as a medicine. Along with marijuana being a part of medicine since at least 3000 BC, like we see in the Chinese Ideogram, I wanted to discuss how easily it can be looked at as something criminalized purely because of historical and current racism and classism. The Westerner's (Colonialist) were not the first one's to discover marijuana, nor did they catch on to its medicinal qualities until at least 1,000 years after the rest of the world had. Not to be frank, but Westerners, and especially those in power ie Colonialist thinkers, tend to be some jealous haters. It's pretty much as easy as that.
I think this is still currently our issue in not being able to talk about marijuana's medicinal qualities in a factual matter. It is still criminalized, except for now it's the pharmaceutical industry that can't figure out a proper way to make it into patent form, so they continue to keep the general public in the dark about its facts. Keeping many people in ignorance and then criminalizing many more. Capitalism at its finest.
I also wanted to touch on the point of lung health and smoking. I've heard a lot of people say different things about smoking marijuana. I think it's very important that we discuss with our patients the effects of smoking weed on the lungs, especially if they are having troubles with the particular area. Claiming that weed is "medicine" and then not facing the direct negative effects can be dangerous. Marijuana can cause many people problems with the lungs including chronic bronchitis, aveolar problems, less oxygen exchange, air flow obstruction, emphasema and even cancer.
This is where juicing can come into play, and if they are looking for a high a long with the healing direct them more towards tinctures. The heat and chemical reaction of marijuana on the lungs can be as detrimental as a cigarette in some ways.
As I discussed in class, cannabis can help people with an overactive immune system but it hinders those with a low amount of white blood cells by supressing T cell function and cell mediated immunity. It's been known to not only ease but also heal such things as Epilepsy, Huntington's Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, ALS, Tourette's Syndrome, Sleep Apnea, GI Disorders, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and Glaucoma.
Cannabis also helps with nausea, appetite, anxiety, and body pains because the THC and CBD's activate the CB1 and CB2 receptors inside the Central Nervous System.
Components of Cannabis
Tetrahydrocannabinol
Cannabidiol-type
CBD
Cannabigerol-type
CBG
Finding clear studies without an agenda is always hard, but I think it is especially difficult in the case of marijuana as a medicine. Along with marijuana being a part of medicine since at least 3000 BC, like we see in the Chinese Ideogram, I wanted to discuss how easily it can be looked at as something criminalized purely because of historical and current racism and classism. The Westerner's (Colonialist) were not the first one's to discover marijuana, nor did they catch on to its medicinal qualities until at least 1,000 years after the rest of the world had. Not to be frank, but Westerners, and especially those in power ie Colonialist thinkers, tend to be some jealous haters. It's pretty much as easy as that.
I think this is still currently our issue in not being able to talk about marijuana's medicinal qualities in a factual matter. It is still criminalized, except for now it's the pharmaceutical industry that can't figure out a proper way to make it into patent form, so they continue to keep the general public in the dark about its facts. Keeping many people in ignorance and then criminalizing many more. Capitalism at its finest.
I also wanted to touch on the point of lung health and smoking. I've heard a lot of people say different things about smoking marijuana. I think it's very important that we discuss with our patients the effects of smoking weed on the lungs, especially if they are having troubles with the particular area. Claiming that weed is "medicine" and then not facing the direct negative effects can be dangerous. Marijuana can cause many people problems with the lungs including chronic bronchitis, aveolar problems, less oxygen exchange, air flow obstruction, emphasema and even cancer.
This is where juicing can come into play, and if they are looking for a high a long with the healing direct them more towards tinctures. The heat and chemical reaction of marijuana on the lungs can be as detrimental as a cigarette in some ways.
As I discussed in class, cannabis can help people with an overactive immune system but it hinders those with a low amount of white blood cells by supressing T cell function and cell mediated immunity. It's been known to not only ease but also heal such things as Epilepsy, Huntington's Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, ALS, Tourette's Syndrome, Sleep Apnea, GI Disorders, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and Glaucoma.
Cannabis also helps with nausea, appetite, anxiety, and body pains because the THC and CBD's activate the CB1 and CB2 receptors inside the Central Nervous System.
Components of Cannabis
Tetrahydrocannabinol
Cannabidiol-type
CBD
Cannabigerol-type
CBG
Saturday, March 1, 2014
Week 8: The Chemistry of Household Products
Ummm, after looking under my kitchen sink I realize that I need to start treating a lot of my cleaning supplies like I do my food by making better choices that lean more towards products in their natural state and products that do less harm to the world, and my own body. I do use baking soda, vinegar, and hydrogen peroxide (and lemons, which aren't under the sink) where I can, but I don't think I do enough.
Along with these three items there is Windex, Method Kitchen Cleaner, Bleach, Method dish soap, wood polish, and Finish cleaner for the dishwasher.
WINDEX: NH3 ammonia plus detergents, dyes and fragrances
Method Kitchen Cleaner: Corn and coconut derived biodegradable surfactants, corn based cleaning salt, soda ash, potassium hydrtae, fragrance oil, color, and purified water.
Bleach: NaClO sodium hypochlorite
Method Dish Soap: water, sodium lauryl sulfate, lauramine oxide, Decyl glusoside, lauryl glucoside, glycerin, alcohol, sodium chloride, citrid acid, methylisothiazolinone, fragrance, polymeric yellow, polymeric red
Vinegar: C2H4O2 acetic acid, ethanoic acid
Baking soda: NaHcO3 sodium bicarbonate
The other two cleaners don't have ingredients listed.
I am going to start researching the best ways to clean with natural products cause I do think it is best to avoid any product that is mass produced. The thing is, I'm a sucker for a good cleaning product...
The Mediterranean Diet
These two articles talked about the fact that if you eat whole foods, including vegetables, fruits, legumes, meat, fish and grains can lead to healthier, longer life. They called this style of eating "the Mediterranean Diet" although from what they said in these articles, they really just mean a diet full of whole foods and nothing processed.
They also talk about the "low fat" diet and how although it can lower cholesterol, it does not lower the chances of dying or suffering from myocardial infarction or coronary heart disease.
Along with these three items there is Windex, Method Kitchen Cleaner, Bleach, Method dish soap, wood polish, and Finish cleaner for the dishwasher.
WINDEX: NH3 ammonia plus detergents, dyes and fragrances
Method Kitchen Cleaner: Corn and coconut derived biodegradable surfactants, corn based cleaning salt, soda ash, potassium hydrtae, fragrance oil, color, and purified water.
Bleach: NaClO sodium hypochlorite
Method Dish Soap: water, sodium lauryl sulfate, lauramine oxide, Decyl glusoside, lauryl glucoside, glycerin, alcohol, sodium chloride, citrid acid, methylisothiazolinone, fragrance, polymeric yellow, polymeric red
Vinegar: C2H4O2 acetic acid, ethanoic acid
Baking soda: NaHcO3 sodium bicarbonate
The other two cleaners don't have ingredients listed.
I am going to start researching the best ways to clean with natural products cause I do think it is best to avoid any product that is mass produced. The thing is, I'm a sucker for a good cleaning product...
The Mediterranean Diet
These two articles talked about the fact that if you eat whole foods, including vegetables, fruits, legumes, meat, fish and grains can lead to healthier, longer life. They called this style of eating "the Mediterranean Diet" although from what they said in these articles, they really just mean a diet full of whole foods and nothing processed.
They also talk about the "low fat" diet and how although it can lower cholesterol, it does not lower the chances of dying or suffering from myocardial infarction or coronary heart disease.
Week Seven Electorchemistry and Alchemy
Semiconductor of the Week
A semiconductor is a material that can conduct electricity, but less than a conductor. Semiconductors have unique physical properties that are a mix of a conductor like aluminum and an insulator like glass. This week I am choosing Germanium because it one of the most common elemental semiconductors.
Germanium is a chemical element with symbol Ge and an atomic number of 32. It is a lustrous, hard, grayish-white. Purified germanium is a semiconductor with an appearance most similar to elemental silicon. Like silicon, germanium naturally reacts and forms complexes with oxygen in nature. Unlike silicon, it is too reactive to be found naturally on Earth in the free (native) state.
Semiconductors are mainly classified into two categories: Intrinsic and Extrinsic. An intrinsic semiconductor material is chemically very pure and possesses poor conductivity. Where as an extrinsic semiconductor is an improved intrinsic semiconductor with a small amount of impurities added by a process, known as doping, which alters the electrical properties of the semiconductor and improves its conductivity. Introducing impurities into the semiconductor materials (doping process) can control their conductivity.
Science Toys
I can't find the link for this question so this section is TO BE CONTINUED
Alchemy
I think alchemy is a beautiful practice of science, magic, and art combined. Unlike the very single minded, Western way of looking at Science, Alchemy has a way of viewing the world and its elements as a sort of magical and spiritual study. I think this is very important and it's something we are missing today in modern science. I don't understand why in the past 100 years or so, there's been such huge debates about such things as Darwin Vs. God. Why can't it be both? Why can't we incorporate the pure magic of life into our sciences and not have it be so black and white? What many Westerners can't seem to understand or respect is the history of this planet and it's people; That people have been surviving and discovering and learning long before the Colonialists came along. I think humbling one's self and opening your eyes to the magic we witness every day in this life could really help to balance the sciences that lead the world today. Science and magic should have never been separated in the first place.
A semiconductor is a material that can conduct electricity, but less than a conductor. Semiconductors have unique physical properties that are a mix of a conductor like aluminum and an insulator like glass. This week I am choosing Germanium because it one of the most common elemental semiconductors.
Germanium is a chemical element with symbol Ge and an atomic number of 32. It is a lustrous, hard, grayish-white. Purified germanium is a semiconductor with an appearance most similar to elemental silicon. Like silicon, germanium naturally reacts and forms complexes with oxygen in nature. Unlike silicon, it is too reactive to be found naturally on Earth in the free (native) state.
Semiconductors are mainly classified into two categories: Intrinsic and Extrinsic. An intrinsic semiconductor material is chemically very pure and possesses poor conductivity. Where as an extrinsic semiconductor is an improved intrinsic semiconductor with a small amount of impurities added by a process, known as doping, which alters the electrical properties of the semiconductor and improves its conductivity. Introducing impurities into the semiconductor materials (doping process) can control their conductivity.
Science Toys
I can't find the link for this question so this section is TO BE CONTINUED
Alchemy
I think alchemy is a beautiful practice of science, magic, and art combined. Unlike the very single minded, Western way of looking at Science, Alchemy has a way of viewing the world and its elements as a sort of magical and spiritual study. I think this is very important and it's something we are missing today in modern science. I don't understand why in the past 100 years or so, there's been such huge debates about such things as Darwin Vs. God. Why can't it be both? Why can't we incorporate the pure magic of life into our sciences and not have it be so black and white? What many Westerners can't seem to understand or respect is the history of this planet and it's people; That people have been surviving and discovering and learning long before the Colonialists came along. I think humbling one's self and opening your eyes to the magic we witness every day in this life could really help to balance the sciences that lead the world today. Science and magic should have never been separated in the first place.
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